Vehicle wheel cover retention system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle wheel cover retention system wherein the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the associated wheel includes a unique construction for securing a wheel cover to the wheel. In particular, the vehicle wheel includes a disc which defines an outboard facing wheel surface and includes an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. The outboard tire bead seat retaining flange includes an outer surface having a circumferential, radially inwardly facing groove formed therein. A relatively thin wheel cover (which may or may not conform to the exact contour of the disc) covers at least a portion of the outboard facing wheel disc surface. In particular, the wheel cover includes an outer annular lip which extends into the groove.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to vehicle wheels and, in particular, to animproved vehicle wheel cover retention system.

Full or partial vehicle wheel covers of the removable type are wellknown, and have been used for many years to enhance the styling ofconventional, stamped wheel discs. Also, it is known to permanentlysecure a full or partial wheel cover to a vehicle wheel using anadhesive material.

One example of a vehicle wheel construction wherein an ornamentalplastic wheel cover having a chrome-plated outer surface is permanentlysecured to an outboard facing surface of a wheel is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 3,669,501 to Derleth. In the Derleth patent, the wheel coverincludes an outer peripheral flange which overhangs the outboard tirebead seat retaining flange of the wheel, an inner peripheral flangewhich seats against an outboard surface of a hub sleeve, and anintermediate portion which is spaced outwardly from the face of thewheel. An expanding adhesive material is applied to the outboardsurfaces of the wheel. When the adhesive material is expanded, it isoperative to fill the void between the wheel and the wheel cover topermanently secure the wheel cover to the outboard face of the wheel.

Another example of a vehicle wheel construction having an ornamentalwheel cover permanently secured to an outboard facing surface of thewheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,966 to Oakey. In the Oakeypatent, a cast aluminum wheel cover is secured to a disc of a steelwheel using a high density structural adhesive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a vehicle wheel cover retention system whereinthe outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the associated wheelincludes a unique construction for securing a wheel cover to the wheel.

In particular, the vehicle wheel includes a disc which defines anoutboard facing wheel surface and includes an outboard tire bead seatretaining flange. The outboard tire bead seat retaining flange includesan outer surface having a circumferential, radially inwardly facinggroove formed therein. A relatively thin wheel cover (which may or maynot conform to the exact contour of the disc) covers at least a portionof the outboard facing wheel disc surface. In particular, the wheelcover includes an outer annular lip which extends into the groove. Thegroove functions, in part, to hide a peripheral edge of the cover.Preferably, an adhesive material is applied to the outboard facing wheelsurface of the disc, and the cover is then pressed against the adhesivecovered to permanently secure the wheel cover to the disc. Such aconstruction is especially advantageous when it is desired to produce a"chrome plated" wheel. It has been found that the cost of forming thecover, chrome plating the cover, and then securing it to the disc issubstantially less that plating a wheel disc by a conventional process.

Other advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilledin the art from the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an improved vehicle wheelconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the adhesive pattern for the vehicle wheelillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a selected portion of the vehiclewheel illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a selected portion of thevehicle wheel illustrated in FIG. 3

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, and showing analternate embodiment of a vehicle wheel construction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 anexploded perspective view of an improved vehicle wheel, indicatedgenerally at 10, and constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The vehicle wheel 10 shown in this embodiment is a full facefabricated type of wheel, and, includes a rim 12, a full face wheel disc14, a wheel cover 16, and a cap 18. However, it will be appreciated thatthe invention is applicable for used with other wheel constructions. Forexample, the wheel can be a "bead seat attached wheel" (such as shown inFIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,429 to Heck et al.), a "well attachedwheel" (such as shown in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,429 to Heck etal.), a one-piece cast or forged alloy wheel (such as shown in U.S. Pat.No. 5,078,453 to Siwek), or a wheel construction including a partial rimand a full face wheel disc (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,508 toCissell II), all of these patents incorporated herein by reference.

The rim 12 is preferably painted black, and is a fabricated rimconstructed of steel, aluminum, or other alloy materials. The rim 12includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange 20, an inboard tirebead seat 22, a generally axially extending well 24, and an outboardtire bead seat 26.

The disc 14 is a forged, cast or fabricated disc constructed of steel,aluminum, or other alloy materials, and includes a generally centrallylocated wheel mounting surface 30, and an outer annular flange 32. Thewheel mounting surface 30 is provided with a centrally located pilotaperture 34, and a plurality of lug bolt receiving holes 36. The lugbolt receiving holes 36 receive lug bolts and nuts (not shown) forsecuring the wheel 10 on an axle (not shown) of a vehicle. The outerannular flange 32 of the disc 14 defines an outboard tire bead seatretaining flange of the wheel 10, and includes an outer surface 40 andan inner surface 42. The disc 14 further includes a plurality ofdecorative openings or windows 38. Preferably, the annular flange 32 ispainted silver and the rest of the disc 14 is painted black.

As shown in this embodiment, the cap 18 is secured to the disc 14 by aplurality of fasteners 19 (only one fastener 19 being illustrated). Thefasteners 19 extend through openings 21 formed in the cap, and arereceived in threaded openings 23 provided in the wheel mounting surface30 of the disc 14.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the annular flange 32 of the disc 14 defines aradially extending outer end surface 50, an axially extending inner sidesurface 52, and an axially extending outer side surface 54. To assemblethe wheel 10, an outboard end 28 of the rim 12 is positioned against theinner surface 42 of the disc 14 and a weld 44 is provided to join thedisc 14 and rim 12 together as shown in FIG. 3.

In accordance with the present invention, the outer surface 40 of thedisc 14 is provided with a circumferential, radially inwardly facinggroove or recess 46. Preferably, the groove 46 is formed by a machiningoperation to predetermined specifications. However, the groove 46 can beformed by other methods. For example, the groove 46 can be formed by astamping operation or a spinning operation.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the groove 46 is defined by a first surface 58which extends in a generally axial direction, and a second surface 56which extends in a generally radial direction a predetermined distanceX. In particular, the surfaces 58 and 56 are oriented at predeterminedangles A and B, respectively, relative to a reference line C which isgenerally parallel to the wheel axis. The angle A is in the range of 0°to 30°, and the angle B is in the range of 60° to 120°. Preferably, theangle A is approximately 20°, and the angle B is approximately 90°. Aswill be discussed below, the distance X is selected so that an outerannular lip of the wheel cover 16 is completely recessed within thegroove 46.

The wheel cover 16 shown in this embodiment is preferably formed fromstainless steel having a thickness of approximately 0.020 inch, and ispainted or chrome plated. The wheel cover 16 is prefabricated togenerally match the particular configuration of the outboard facingsurface of the disc 14. In particular, the wheel cover 16 includes aplurality of openings 60 which correspond to the windows 38 formed inthe disc 14, and an enlarged central opening 62.

The openings 60 in the cover 16 are preferably formed by a stampingoperation. As best shown in FIG. 3, edges 63 of the openings 60 extendslightly past edges 39 of the windows 38. As a result of this, when thecover 16 is secured to the disc 14, the completely assembled wheel 10 ofthe present invention has the appearance of a "chrome plated" wheel.

The cover 16 further defines an outer surface 64, an inner surface 65,an an outer annular lip 66. The annular lip 66 of the cover 16 definesan outer peripheral edge 68 which is preferably slightly spaced from theadjacent second surface 56 of the groove 46 to form a gap 72therebetween to accommodate small dimensional changes in the outer edge68 of the wheel cover 16; however, in some instances, there may be somecontact between the outer edge 68 of the cover 16 and the second surface56 of the groove 46. Also, the outer annular lip 66 of the cover 16 isprefabricated in such a manner (as shown in phantom in FIG. 4) that,when the cover 16 is positioned on the disc 14, inner surface 66A of thelip 66 is biased outwardly against surface 58 of the groove 46. Theouter peripheral edge 68 of the cover 16 defines an inner circle 68A.

In order to permanently secure the cover 16 to the disc 14, an adhesive70, such as a two-part epoxy, is utilized. A suitable epoxy is FUSOR380/382 manufactured by Lord Corporation. As shown in FIG. 2, theadhesive 70 is preferably applied on the outboard face of the disc 14 ina predetermined pattern as represented by the heavy lines consisting ofan inner circle 70B, an outer circle 70A, and angled radial lines 70C.

The pattern of the adhesive 70 is selected so that when the wheel cover16 is positioned on the disc 14 and pressure applied thereto, a smearingof the adhesive 70 over substantially the entire outboard face of thedisc 14 occurs. The adhesive 70 functions to permanently secure thecover 16 to the disc 14. Also, since the adhesive 70 coverssubstantially the entire interface between the cover 16 and the disc 14,it is effective to provide a seal and prevent water, mud, and otherdebris from entering between the cover 16 and the outboard facingsurface of the disc 14.

The distance X of the second surface 56 of the groove 46 is at leastequal to the combined thicknesses of the wheel cover 16 and the adhesivematerial so that the inner circle 68A of the wheel cover 16 is recessedrelative to the inner side surface 52 of the annular flange 32 of thedisc 14. This effectively hides the outer peripheral edge 68 of thecover 16. This is also important to ensure that the wheel cover 16 doesnot interfere with the attachment of a wheel balance weight 90 (as shownin FIG. 5).

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of a wheel cover 80 which issimilar to the wheel cover 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, except that thewheel cover 80 has a styled configuration different from the associatedwheel disc. This enhances the styling of the associated vehicle wheel ascompared to the disc. It also enables different styled covers to be usedwith a common disc.

In particular, the wheel cover 80 includes a predetermined profile whichpositions an inner surface 82 thereof a substantial distance from theoutboard facing surface of the disc 14. In this embodiment, anexpandable foam adhesive material 84 is used to permanently secure thecover 80 to the disc 14. Preferably, the adhesive material 84 is appliedto the outer surface of the disc 14 in a predetermined pattern so thatwhen the adhesive material 84 expands, it covers substantially theentire interface between the cover 80 and the disc 14. The adhesivematerial 84 functions to permanently secure the cover 80 to the disc 14,and prevents water, mud, and other debris from entering therebetween.

Also, the cover 80 includes an outer annular lip 86 which isprefabricated and secured in a manner similar to that discussed abovewith respect to the cover 14 of FIGS. 1-4.

It will be appreciated that while the invention has been illustrated anddescribed as having the wheel cover cover only a portion of the outboardfacing surface of the disc, other wheel cover configurations arepossible. For example, a wheel cover (not shown) can be provided tocover substantially the entire outboard facing surface of the disc.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principleand mode of operation of this invention have been described andillustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understoodthat the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallyexplained and illustrated without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe attached claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A vehicle wheel defining an axis and comprising:adisc defining an outboard facing wheel surface and including an outboardtire bead seat retaining flange, said outboard bead seat retainingflange including an outer surface having a circumferential, radiallyinwardly facing groove formed therein, said groove defined by agenerally axially extending first surface and a second surface angledrelative to said first surface; and a wheel cover coveting at least aportion of said outboard facing wheel surface, said wheel coverincluding an outer annular lip which extends into said groove and ispositioned adjacent said first surface, said outer annular lip defininga peripheral edge spaced apart from said second surface to define a gaptherebetween to accommodate small dimensional changes in said peripheraledge of said wheel cover and to facilitate the installation of saidwheel cover.
 2. The wheel according to claim 1 wherein said secondsurface is generally perpendicular to said first surface.
 3. The wheelaccording to claim 1 wherein the entire peripheral edge is spaced apartfrom said second surface to define an uninterrupted gap therebetween. 4.The wheel according to claim 1 wherein said outer annular lip is biasedagainst said first surface.
 5. The wheel according to claim 1 whereinsaid second surface extends a predetermined distance, and saidpredetermined distance is greater than the thickness of said wheelcover.
 6. The wheel according to claim 1 wherein said first surface isoriented between 0° to 30° relative to the wheel axis.
 7. The wheelaccording to claim 1 wherein said second surface is oriented between 60°to 120° relative to said first surface.
 8. The wheel according to claim1 wherein said peripheral edge defines an inner circle, said outboardtire bead seat retaining flange defines a generally axially extendinginner side surface, and said inner circle is recessed relative to saidinner side surface
 9. The wheel according to claim 1 wherein selectedportions of said wheel cover are spaced apart from said disc.